[USNBandit]

A friend of mine deployed to the Kurdish region of Iraq during the 2003 war. He found the Kurkdish mindset to be very long term. In their minds they had been battling for hundreds of years, so a few decades of subjugation was preferable to anihilation. Getting rid of Saddam was simply a stepping stone to their ultimate goal, a unified and independent Kurdistan.

Now the Kurds are being attacked both by ISIS and the Turks. Aligning with the Russians and Syrians reduces threats to the Kurds in Syria, gives them an ally against ISIS, and may make the Turks reconsider bombing raids into Syria and Iraq against the PKK.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Thanks for your insight.

I don’t blame them a bit for their strategy. Obama has not been much of an ally, and anyone can see he’s a faithless friend going forward.

I hope this doesn’t become a replay of the 1914 Balkans, but the Kurds aren’t responsible for that. They are in a very difficult situation.

[House Atreides]

Excellent assessment of the current situation. I agree 100%.